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Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

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Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#761

Post by hxta98596 »

kevinqi wrote: post #120

Teenage Engineering OP-1, a music synthesizer. Really well built, buttons and knobs feel fantastic, and the display is super fun. The OP-1 in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umatbZ0n4mE

Great recommendation. For those folks balking at the $850 price, I agree it's very expensive. But a decent synthesizer is going to start around $500 anyways and it goes up very fast from there (synths can easily cost +$3000 with full size keys). The OP-1 is not ridiculously pricey when compared to competitors products.

I wanted to suggest another option that is much less expensive and worth checking out if you are interested in this type of music is Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators [1]. These are just a fun instrument/toy to play around with and they only cost $50! From the same company too...I wouldn't say the Pockets are a "best-design thing" but I do think they are an easy and inexpensive way to start messing around creating your own music on a hardware instrument before deciding on a bigger purchase like a $1000k synthesizer. The website is great and has sample sounds of each model:

[1] https://teenage.engineering/products/po

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#762

Post by dredmorbius »

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #396
zeptomu wrote: post #305

Moka pots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot It is simple and just works.

I always, always burn the coffee with those things.

Use a timer.

Should be about 6 minutes on most stoves, though adjust for experience.

Turn off the heat when the spitting starts (or turn it low for another 30-60s).

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#763

Post by deftturtle »

PTRFRLL wrote: post #759
whitepoplar wrote: post #726

Textmate 2 - It's such a well-engineered piece of software, and it's gorgeous. Bialetti Brikka - Such an elegant design, and it makes delicious coffee, Italian-style. Nespresso - If Apple made espresso machines. The espresso tastes great and it's easy to clean. Patagonia MLC 45L - My pet peeve with luggage is that the good stuff tends to be heavy. Not this! It's big enough for extended travel, has backpack straps if…

Has Schwab upgraded their web security recently? Last time I looked at them, they had a 8 character upper limit on their password field that they then lower-cased.

Lol this kind of stuff isn't a priority for most websites. But you'd think financial operations would be the first to update.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#764

Post by empath75 »

psonic wrote: post #590

Some djing/music related stuff: Roland 808/909 Technics 1200 MK2 A&H Xone mixer serie Shure SM58 Ikea Expedit

Absolutely the technics 1200. The great thing is it has affordances that the designers didn't even consider-- the spindle and the edge of the platter. If you're djing, you interact with those two things more than anything else on the turntable.

I'd probably pick the Pioneer DJM series over the Xone, though.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#765

Post by hxta98596 »

MrTonyD wrote: post #757
artimaeis wrote: post #668

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Ticonderoga is a wonderful workhorse of wood cased pencils. As you've pointed out their lead is sturdy and their price is almost unbeatable for the performance. Possibly the only downside is they're no longer made in the USA and I feel like their overall quality has suffered since the move to China and Mexico. If you're willing to explore pricier options there are so many excellent wood case pencils to be had! Th…

I've struggled with sharpening pencils. I enjoy a good pencil - but I've never found a sharpener that works consistently. Any advice?

One of the KUM sharpeners from here. Using 2 stage blades helps:

https://pencils.com/product-category/sharpeners/

Another option buy an X-acto knife (watch youtube videos how to sharpen a pencil with a knife if needed). It's the best way to sharpen a pencil to the way you like it but it takes time. I usually just use the KUM.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#766

Post by tomcam »

bigiain wrote: post #198
tomcam wrote: post #170

U.S. Constitution Eiffel Tower Bosendorfer 214CS piano 1986 Fender Performer guitar 1959 Fender Stratocaster Yamaha YBL 321 trombone Yamaha Q series alto sax Any Zojirushi rice cooker Vitamix Sony SRF-M37w radio Golden Gate Bridge (walk it) Any Porsche 911 Toyota Sienna minivan Any MacBook Air Duluth Trading Longtail T shirts web2py C89 Visual Basic 3.0 Turbo Pascal 3.0 Visual Pascal Vim Eggs, bananas, bell peppers,…

A little surprised not to see a Shure SM28 or 57 microphone near the items at the top of that list... And if you're gonna have the GG Bridge, can I propose the 747as well. They're still building them now, almost 50 years later - the first one rolled out of the factory in '68 (first test flight wasn't till '69)

Seattleite here, you're right--quite the oversight!

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#767

Post by spangry »

Jaruzel wrote: post #182

Logitech MX510 and MX518 Mice: https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Performance-Optical-Gaming-M... For some reason, these mice are awesome for me. Neither are made any more, and I will cry when mine finally die.

Love this mouse. Exactly the right weight and size, and well thought out moulding.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#768

Post by woofyman »

FreakyT wrote: post #27

Another odd one, but my Honda Fit 2nd Generation. So many things about that car are so well thought-out, and even more expensive/luxurious cars miss things that the Fit designers included. Some examples: - Cup holder on the dashboard to the left of the steering wheel. As a left-handed person, this is amazing. - Window power remains on after turning off the car as long as doors haven't been opened, allowing you to clo…

I have a 2007 Fit Sport automatic. Other than a failed transmission pressure sensor, it's been drop dead reliable.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#769

Post by whitepoplar »

PTRFRLL wrote: post #759
whitepoplar wrote: post #726

Textmate 2 - It's such a well-engineered piece of software, and it's gorgeous. Bialetti Brikka - Such an elegant design, and it makes delicious coffee, Italian-style. Nespresso - If Apple made espresso machines. The espresso tastes great and it's easy to clean. Patagonia MLC 45L - My pet peeve with luggage is that the good stuff tends to be heavy. Not this! It's big enough for extended travel, has backpack straps if…

Has Schwab upgraded their web security recently? Last time I looked at them, they had a 8 character upper limit on their password field that they then lower-cased.

Yes: http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/client_home/password_for...

They also have 2-factor auth, which can be enabled by request.

Re: Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

#770

Post by agentgt »

s0rce wrote: post #760
Tcepsa wrote: post #614

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like to put in a plug for Finex cast iron. They're milled smooth on the bottom which I prefer to the finish on the Lodge pan that I have. Regardless, +1 for cast iron!

Cool! I haven't seen a modern cast iron pan that I've liked as much as my ancient Wagner Ware pan, the smooth interior surface is so much better than the bumpy as cast surface on the sand cast models that aren't finished. Not sure I would pay the asking price for these Finex ones, you can still get old ones at flea markets, thrift stores and ebay if you look around.

The bumpy to polished surface is more of an aesthetic and ergonomic thing than a stick thing.

That is the bumpiness of a lodge eventually goes away and the initial bumps really have little correlation on the stickiness.

Think of it this way... Sticky tires for race cars are actually extremely smooth.

What people don't like is the sound a spatula makes on the new lodge pan compared to polish pans but in my experience the lodge pans are in most ways less prone to stick than older pans because the heat is more even (this is perhaps because they are heavier).

In some ways the bumpiness might actually improve slip because it creates pockets of fat but again the bumpiness goes away pretty quick regardless. Some even say the additional bumpiness also aids in adding additional seasoning.

You absolutely have to cook with fat on cast iron pan (either the food has the fat or you add it). Cast iron pans are not even remotely comparable to teflon nonstick when it comes to sticking (and by the way most teflon pans are bumpy as well so.. again bumpiness has little correlation to stick).

There is an incredibly amount of bullshit and false information about cast iron pans on the internet (like comparing it to teflon and how older pans distribute heat better) with very little actual experiments done.

If people really want smooth milled surfaces than a carbon steel pan is far superior as well as distributes heat more evenly (albeit I prefer cast iron for baking).

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